A spicy yet easy way to use up dried beans (no soaking required!) that comes together quickly in you Instant Pot. Full of flavor and perfect over Texmati RiceSelect brown rice, this is a filling meal that can be meat-less, and makes a ton–which you can use to feed a crowd, or this freezes great to save for another busy night.

I don’t know about you–but I try to keep a little food storage on hand. With how many natural disasters there are nowadays I try to keep some allergy-friendly essentials in my pantry lest we couldn’t get to a store for a little bit. Two of the main staples are brown rice and lots of dried beans. They last forever, they’re inexpensive, they’re filling and they are free of the top-8-allergens.

Since my son is allergic to multiple grains, rice is a staple at our house and we have it with almost every meal, so we rotate through that no problem. The beans on the other hand…well…I always have good intentions of giving those a soak and using them up–but inevitably I buy canned because I often don’t plan ahead–which is why I’m so glad that I found another recipe that specifically calls for dried beans to help me use them up.

My love of red beans and rice goes back to my single days when I could buy a boxed mix and enjoy that spicy goodness. Since those typically have wheat in them, I’d kind of forgotten about it.

Then, once I did remember I wanted it back in my life, I kept only finding recipes that relied heavily on a store-bought spice mix. Most call for Tony’s–which I used to be a ginormous fan of. But, with allergy warnings, I have long given up (if anyone knows anyone at the company–please talk to them!). I was always so dissatisfied with the rice and beans feeling they were bland without that. That was until one day I tweaked this recipe that not only calls for spices, but also uses Worchershire sauce, hot sauce and red wine vinegar which really gives it a great punch!

While this has a great kick and flavor level to it, it’s not too hot. Even my children eat it, and my older son will even eat it for leftovers for a few days!

So to recap, it’s inexpensive, uses up your pantry staples, your kids will eat it and it is made quickly and easily in the Instant Pot…need I say more?

OK–just one more thing: I loved having this over Texmati RiceSelect brown rice. I love brown rice because as mentioned before, my son doesn’t’ have many grains, so it helps me feel better knowing he’s getting a whole grain. I have directions on how to make the rice in the Instant Pot, or you can do it on the stove top if you’ve already put your bean mixture in the Instant Pot. I find it is still soft and helps me soak up all the goodness of the beans on top of it.

A spicy yet easy way to use up dried beans (that requires no pre-soaking!) that comes together quickly in you Instant Pot. Full of flavor and perfect over Texmati RiceSelect brown rice, this is a filling meal that can be meat-less, and makes a ton--which you can use to feed a crowd, or this freezes great to save for another busy night.

Author: Allergy Awesomeness

Recipe type: Instant Pot Dinner

Cuisine: American

Serves: 8 cups

Ingredients

1 large red onion, diced small

2-3 Tablespoons. olive oil

2 Tablespoons minced garlic

2 tsp. dried thyme

2 tsp. dried oregano

1 and ½ tsp salt

black pepper to taste

1 pound dried red kidney beans, rinsed

1 cup Cajun spiced chicken sausages (dice into pieces about the size of the cooked beans, this equaled about 2-3 sausage links for me, feel free to do more or less--can be omitted if you want this meatless)

Turn your Instant Pot to the saute function. Add the olive oil, and once hot, add the diced onion. Stir frequently until the onion is softened. Next, add the garlic and spices and cook until fragrant. Turn the Instant Pot to the off/warm function (otherwise the saute function gets too hot and starts to burn your garlic) and add the rest of your ingredients (other than the rice.)

Once everything is added and has been stirred, place your lid on, and turn the steam value to seal. Hit the "bean" function and allow it to run its 30 minute cycle. I have found that just one cycle, on unsoaked beans is not enough, so once it finishes, I hit it again. Two cycles seems to be just right--and that is worth not pre-soaking to me! After it's finished cooking, allow it to de-pressurize on it's own. Give it a good stir and serve that spicy goodness over your pre-cooked rice.

RICE INSTRUCTIONS:

Stove top: If you want to make the rice over the stove, in a medium sauce pan add 1 and ½ cups brown rice to 3 cups of water. Bring this to a boil, then place a lid on it and turn the heat down to medium-low (you want it just barely simmering). Cook for 45 minutes. Fluff the rice with a fork and serve.

Instant pot: I find I like to do this for time and so that I can make a big batch. Since we eat rice several times a week I'll do this about once a week. Turn the Instant Pot to saute and pour 1 Tablespoon of olive oil and 1 teaspoon of salt. Next, add your brown rice and stir to coat in the warm oil. Turn it to off/warm (otherwise the saute function will be so hot, your water will steam up and you'll lose the right quantity of water). Then, add 2 and ½ cups of water. Turn your Instant Pot to manual and set it for 26 minutes. Allow it to cook and de-pressurize on it's own. Fluff with a fork and serve immediately, or store in an air-tight container in your fridge for 3-5 days. When you are warming it up from the fridge, add 1-2 Tabelspoons of water, and vent the lid on one corner. Toss it in your microwave for 1 minute on high. Fluff and serve.

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